Hungary’s response to Ukraine's education law indicates it is ill-considered — Kremlin

It is obvious that this new law gives rise to profound concern in a number of European countries, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

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SOCHI, October 10. /TASS/. The Kremlin believes that Hungary’s response to Ukraine’s law on education shows that the document is ill-conceived.

"It is obvious that this new law, which has been passed by Rada [parliament], gives rise to profound concern in a number of European countries. This [Hungary’s response] is a specific manifestation, which has shown once again that, of course, the law is ill-conceived and does not meet European standards," Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Referring to Hungary's proposal to reconsider the EU's association agreement with Ukraine, he said it was up to the European Union to decide on the issue. "It’s up to the European Union to decide, you should contact the Hungarian authorities and ask them to comment on the issue," the Kremlin spokesman noted.

On September 25, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko signed a new law on education. According to the legislation, as of 2018, instruction in the languages of ethnic minorities will remain only in elementary schools, while all educational instruction in secondary schools and in colleges and universities will be exclusively in Ukrainian.

Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece and Moldova have voiced concerns over the new law. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis canceled his visit to Ukraine scheduled for October. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest would block any step in the EU that could lead to Ukraine advancing towards European integration.